We have just finished the annual

But the issue is far larger. Banned Books Week is a personal reminder of why I am so proud to be a librarian.  Chatter on the social media is easy, but being a bastion for intellectual freedom and freedom of access to information can be both challenging and frightening. While our everyday workload may be hard, it is nothing compared to what it takes to stand against censors.

Every year ALA and its divisions, including AASL (American Association for School Librarians) present an Intellectual Freedom Award to a librarian who stood up for ALA’s Code of Ethics and most particularly the Library Bill of Rights.  Most state library associations have the same award.  I have known at least one recipient personally, and while she got support from ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom and from her state organization, she said it was lonely and she was often fearful.  She had a positive outcome, and the challenged books were re-instated in the library.  Even better, she was a role model for her students.  But, it was a very difficult time.

Sitting alone and selecting which books to order, librarians quietly face the dilemma of whether to adhere to the strong beliefs which are a foundation of our profession or take the easy way out.  Many decide it isn’t worth the risk, rationalize their budgets aren’t large enough to buy all the books they would like, and pass over titles on LGBTQ subjects or other hot-button issues in their communities.  No one knows of their individual decisions.  There are no consequences for their action or inaction – except for a student or patron who doesn’t get access to much needed information and/or reassurance.

Those who would remove books often point to librarians’ decisions on what to purchase and what not to buy, claiming it, too, is censorship, but they miss a fundamental point.  Book selection—which is what librarians do—is based on the merits of the work as a whole and whether it serves the library’s population. Censorship focuses on snippets—a word, picture, or idea-found unacceptable. It seeks to impose what should be a personal decision on all the library’s users.  As a guide, many of us hold that every library should have something that offends someone – including the librarian who purchased it. I have had works by Klansman and other equally personally offensive titles in my libraries because it was my responsibility to present a broad range of viewpoints.

So as another Banned Books Week comes to an end, I want to honor and celebrate the courageous librarians who take on the toughest aspect of our profession.  I hope those of you who are librarians are equally brave. For non-librarian of this blog, I wish you have these librarians in charge of the library you use.

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I had the great honor to be asked to guest edit the November/December 2013 issue of Knowledge Quest, the journal of AASL. The theme was Dewey or Don’t We, a pro-con look at a growing practice among school (and public librarians) to go from the Dewey Decimal System to a genre-based one. I am again gathering my thoughts on the topic in preparation for writing an article for the February/ March 2014 issue of School Librarian’s Workshop and thought I would give my blog readers a preview.

The genesis of the Knowledge Quest issue goes back to the AASL Affiliate Assembly meeting at ALA Annual in 2012.  The delegates from the Kansas Association of School Librarians brought a Statement of Concern asking AASL for guidance and leadership on how to approach a growing trend of genre-fying the collection.  In addition to wanting AASL to take a position, KASL wanted some way to standardize the new classifications if that is the way we were going.  The resolution passed, meaning the AASL Board had to address it.  A “Hot Topic” panel was assembled for ALA Midwinter 2013, and I was the facilitator.  The room was packed—standing room only—and while opinions didn’t necessarily change, most left with new perspectives and new questions.  To deal with that, it was decided to devote one issue of Knowledge Quest to further explore the positives and negatives on both sides. 

I worked hard as facilitator to stay neutral, but my personal position going into the Hot Topic panel was Dewey works, there is no reason to change.  On the other hand when I was working as a high school librarian in New Jersey I had pulled out Classics and SciFi/Fantasy from my fiction collection.  What became obvious at the panel, and more so in the Knowledge Quest issue, was there are far more than two sides to consider.

Some key points:  choose what will work best for your students; whether you stay with Dewey or change, make sure you have good signage; and you don’t need to take an all or nothing approach.  My own opinion has shifted quite a bit.  The problems within Dewey are real.  We have worked hard to eliminate the “shushing” librarian stereotype, maybe it’s time to get rid of our association with Dewey.  He created the Dewey Decimal Classification System in 1876.  The world has changed drastically since then.

If you are an AASL member, you received your issue and I hope you read it through.  If you are not a member, do try to purchase a copy from AASL.  This is a subject that is not going away.

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